August 19, 1838 to June 10, 1842

Twenty-year-old Saul had been a slave his entire life and was tired of being treated in inhumane ways and separated from his family. He ran away not only to escape the oppression of slavery, but also because he has a mother and brother in Baltimore, and it is probable he is about there. To Saul and many other slaves in the South, familial ties were strong. The deeper reasons for Saul's flight...

For ten days in June 1840, abolitionists from both sides of the Atlantic met together at the World Antislavery Convention in Freemason’s Hall in London, England. The purpose of the convention was to better organize and unite international abolitionist forces in the fight for emancipation. Ironically, while championing the freedom of black slaves, the convention reinforced a different type...

It is not hard to fathom why Augusta County, Virginia showed overwhelming support for the Harrison/Tyler ballot in the Election of 1840. One of the newspapers that circulated in Augusta County, the Staunton Spectator, commented on the results of the county's nomination for president. The Spectator was certain that their nomination of William Harrison and John Tyler would receive a hearty...

The conflict over the lands of the Cherokee tribe (more commonly referred to as the Cherokee Nation) sat on the forefront of U.S. politics once the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act on May 28, 1830. However, when the Ridge Party, a breakaway pro-removal group of the Cherokee Nation, signed the Treaty of New Echota with U.S. treaty commissioners J.F. Schermerhorn and William Carroll on...

On Tuesday June 30, 1840, Mr. Richard Rawlins continued his stay in the nation's capital. However, this day in Washington was not your typical day. He started his diary entry by stating, Today is an era in my life. In this one day, Mr. Rawlins was able to see the Declaration of Independence, call on and present letters of introduction and converse with Henry Clay as well as John Quincy Adams....

He strode up to Frances Sheridan looking utterly ridiculous. Dirty and unshaven, his tattered, mismatched clothes belied his purpose. Much to the surprise of Sheridan, this raggedy character, whom Sheridan took for a vagabond, tried to sell him land. The man took offense at Sheridan's disbelief, but continued to push the sale of his land. After further questioning, Sheridan learned that the...

The Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women, held in Philadelphia May 1st through 3rd , 1839. This gathering was formed in such that African American women could come together and raise their voice for a cause that constantly rejected them. While slavery was still breaking the backs of black men and women in the South, Free Blacks in the North felt a duty and responsibility...

The whale industry was a vital part of the American economy in the 19th century. Many able-bodied men risked their lives to bring back the precious oil tied up in the blubber and head case of the enormous beasts of the sea. Thomas Beale, a surgeon aboard a whaling vessel, spent many years observing the whaling industry first hand. He took care to document the anatomy and behavior of the whales themselves...

The machine once promised humanity greatness—or so the 19th-century train of thought went. “There is nothing in the physical order of things,” wrote Michel Chevalier, “of which our race has a better right to boast, than the mechanical inventions, by means of which man holds in check the irregular vigour, or brings forth the hidden energies, of nature. By the aid of mechanical...

On July 2, 1839, fifty-two Africans took over La Amistad, a ship embarking from Havana on a journey to bring valuables and slaves to trade, killing the captain, cook, and three of the crew members. Two white passengers, Pedro Montes and Jose Rues, were kept alive in order to navigate the ship. The Africans that lead the revolt originally planned to steer the ship to Africa, but Montes...